Monese, a specialist in simplified current account opening, has announced that it has passed the 2 million customer mark, including 200,000 in France. The fintech expects to pass the 5 million mark by the end of the year.
Monese aims to strengthen its position in the European market
The British mobile bank was founded in 2015 by Norris Koppel to enable individuals to open a bank account without proof of address or income requirements. The account is associated with a classic MasterCard. Subscribers can manage their payment transactions directly via the mobile app. Monese is aimed primarily at expatriates and users who wish to benefit from all the advantages of a neobank.
A few months after its creation, the fintech offered its services in France and several other European countries. In France, it now has over 215,000 users, compared with 130,000 in Germany and 800,000 in the UK. On a global scale, Monese recently passed the 2 million customer mark, and aims to reach 5 million by 2020. The European market now accounts for almost three quarters of its growth.
Fintech relies on partnerships
To accelerate its development, Monese is banking on partnerships. In 2019, for example, it teamed up with German startup Raisin to offer interest-bearing savings accounts to users based in France, the UK, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Spain. This partnership has resulted in the launch of a new service called "Monese Épargnes", which enables customers to save to finance a project, and facilitates automated recurring transfers to Raisin users' accounts. Monese intends to take advantage of this new alliance to win over savers and build customer loyalty.
On January 16, Monese announced a partnership withInsurtech Luko. Its users can now benefit from discounts on the latter's home insurance offer. Subscriptions can be made directly from the Monese app. In France, Monese's main collaboration is with the giant PayPal. This enables savers to add their bank card to the electronic wallet of their PayPal account and transfer money more easily. This partnership is fully in line with the neobank's desire to democratize financial services, making them more accessible to populations excluded from the traditional banking system. PayPal participated in Monese's $60 million fundraising in September 2019. The mobile bank plans to raise £100 million by the end of the first half of the year.
Despite its strong growth, Monese did not communicate its latest financial results. In 2018, however, it reported sales of £5.5 million, or around €6.5 million.